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it is a new look with an old name for his 60th birthday. general motors revealing the new stingray as the most powerful and fuel efficient base model ever made. last time the stingray name was used was back in 1976. "cnn newsroom" continues now with brooke baldwin. suzanne, thank you. good to see you all. i'm brooke baldwin. coming to you live from los angeles. 3,000 miles away from the white house, where the president, today, is warning of an economic recession. yep. i said the r word again. another recession if congress balks at raising the debt ceiling. that's right. those two words, we're all using them again. debt ceiling. this time around, the president is telling house republicans they can do it his way or own the blame. here he was. >> and republicans in congress have two choices here. they can act responsibly and pay

america's bills, or they can act irresponsibly and put america through another economic crisis. but they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the american economy. >> also, need to tell you the president did speak about his gun violence effort. he's had the package put together by the vice president is on his desk today. and he will talk about it a little later on this week. want to bring in two people here, ali velshi with me from new york, and gloria borger there in our nation's capital, to you both welcome. ali, it has been more than a year since that whole previous debt limit debacle. and i know you are saying, especially comparing this to what we just saw on new year's day with the fiscal cliff, this is going to be much, much worse, much bigger deal. talk to me about what we're debating or as the president puts it not debating? >> what we're debating or not debating is the idea that the debt ceiling in the united states is a very unusual tool, only one other country has it.

and it is because what used to happen is whenever the government needed to spend money, particularly when you're in a deficit, the treasury of the united states would have to go out and issue bonds in order to get cash to pay for it. and that was just a cumber some, awkward thing to do. what they did was create this debt cerealing which meant t ce could issue bonds for chunks of money not related to every single law that was passed. it was just because it was cumbersome. it is not a debt control or spending control measure. the president used an analogy today, used many, to say this is like eating at a restaurant, having your fill and not paying the bill. if you want to discuss -- >> dine and dash. >> yes, dine and dash. we have two problems. one is we have to understand the terms of this thing. this is about increasing the treasury's ability to pay for things that have already been committed to by the government. the danger is if you have this discussion about not paying it, those who lend you money seem to think you're not serious about this. imagine having this conversation with american express on the

line. we weren't supposed to eat out that much last month. we're only going to pay amex 200 of the $500. this is the problem. if we do ruin our credit rating over this, borrowing costs for the government could get higher, that increases the deficit, and borrowing costs for individuals could get higher. and the market could tank. >> gloria borger, i want to talk about the conversation ali was discussing and the president's tone. i heard you earlier saying it is the preoutrage, right, coming from the president. already today here, gloria, it is harsh. and we heard him say republicans quote/unquote, will not collect a ransom for not crashing, president's word, not crashing the economy. and here he is saying, sure, he will negotiate debt and deficit cuts but only after congress agrees to raise the debt ceiling. take a listen. >> i'm happy to have that conversation. what i will not do is to have that negotiation with a gun at the head of the american people.

>> i know we're already getting reaction from some of the republican leaders including house speaker john boehner, not pleased with some of the language. what are the chances they will raise the debt ceiling and the way the president suggests with basically zero negotiating there? >> i really can't -- i really can't say. at this point i want to throw up my hands along with the rest of the american public. i would presume, because we just feel like we went through this. didn't we just go through this around new year's? >> we did. for the fiscal cliff. >> and here we are, before the president is inaugurated, we have this new crisis. the president today said we can't lurch from crisis to crisis to crisis and then went on and talked about the crisis that we are in. and i think you have two parties with very different visions. a republican said, you know what, we didn't win that fiscal cliff battle, we raised taxes, we didn't want to do it, now this has got to be all about spending cuts and you have the president saying, no, it is

going to be about raising the debt ceiling, then we can talk about some kind of grand bargain. but you have to get over the speed bump, brooke. and i just -- >> hang on a second. you used two words -- gloria borger, you're saying grand bargain? is that -- ali velshi, let me ask you that, grand bargain, is that in our lexicon anymore? >> yeah, i don't even know if bargain is a possibility. gloria knows the politics of this better than i do. the -- somebody asked the question at the press conference, the president said he's not negotiating on this, but you said that about increasing taxes, the last debt limit. i don't know where you go from here politically. i only know economically the market will act as an enforcer and interest rates will act as an enforcer if you don't get it right. how you get a deal, that's above my pay grade. >> and, brooke, the real problem here, i think, for the president is that he's got to deal with the house speaker who has got a lot of problems. this is a house speaker that upset his own republican caucus,

during the fiscal cliff negotiations. he brought up a measure that did not have the majority support of his own party. and they put their speaker on notice, you will not do that to us again. you have to make sure we're going to support something before you bring it up for a vote. and they also said, we want a dollar for dollar increase. in other words, every dollar you increase the debt ceiling for, we want a dollar of spending cuts. well, that's going to be very, very difficult to get for the democratic side. >> we will keep this conversation going in the coming weeks. i also have economist ben stein, he'll be sitting next to me in l.a. we'll talk about the repercussions of this whole thing. gloria borger, ali velshi, thanks, guys. >> sure. today, today marks exactly one month since a gunman killed those 20 children and six adults at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut. and a town hall meeting just

this morning marked the somber occasion with a grassroots effort called the sandy hook promise. the group's objective is this, they want to find the most appropriate way to honor the victims and to seek ways to prevent future massacres. n >> it is a sad honor to be here today, it has been one month since i lost my son dylan and 25 other families lost their loved ones. at times it feels like only yesterday and at other times it feels as if many years has passed. i still find myself reaching for dylan's hand to walk through a parking lot or expecting him to crawl into bed beside me for early morning cuddles before we get ready for school. so hard to believe he's gone. at the same time i look at our community and what has been achieved in one month, a vacant school has been lovingly restored with great care and attention to welcome students

back into a peaceful and safe environment. many businesses and groups are promoting the love we have in newtown as well as fund-raising to help those in most need. neighbors here and elsewhere are reaching out to each other to provide support, services, listening ear, a shoulder to cry on. i've had the honor to meet people from similar events in aurora, columbine, and virginia tech, and hope they can teach us ways to help heal our families and town. i do not want to be someone sharing my experience and consoling another parent next time. i do not want there to be a next time. the sandy hook promises the start of our change, it is a promise we make for our community, but we need a nation of communities to join us in making and delivering on these promises if we are going to achieve true transformation. i don't know yet what these changes are, i come with no

preconceived agenda. i do believe there is no quick fix single action, but instead a multitude of interlinked actions that are needed. i love newtown and i love sandy hook. my family chose to live here and we stand by our choice. one tragedy cannot undermine this town's spirit and love. it was already strong before december 14th, and if we could flash forward and look at newtown in one year, three years, or several years after that, i know we will see a community that is even stronger and more beautiful than it was previously. a place that is helping to lead change and modeling the way a community should be. i'm proud to be part of this town and i'm proud to stand before you to stand for my son dylan and pledge my enduring support to this promise.

>> i am ana's mom. on friday, december 14th, i put two children on the bus and only one came home. i pray that no mother, father, grandparent or caregiver of children ever have to go through this pain. in our home, our faith, our family, our friends have helped carry us through this unbearable pain. we know that jesus, our good shepherd, walks with us and carries us in our moments of pain. he has promised us comfort and healing and rest. and though we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we will not fear darkness or evil or hate. we are choosing love and this way we are honoring ana's life and the legacy of love and faith. love wins. love wins in newtown. and may love win in america. >> those two mothers there, one month ago today.

and this whole national debate over gun control is reaching critical mass this week. you have the mayor of new york, michael bloomberg, also maryland governor martin o'malley today. they began this two-day summit in baltimore on how to reduce gun violence in america. there are specific recommendations are expected tomorrow. mayor bloomberg, who co-chairs the group mayors against illegal guns, said congress has to limit access to assault weapons. >> is limiting the availability of military-style weapons and high capacity magazines with more than ten rounds. these guns and equipment are not designed for sport or home defense. they are designed to kill large numbers of people quickly. that's the only purpose they have. they belong on the battlefield. >> now, keep in mind, getting assault weapons ban through congress could be a extraordinarily difficult, so gun control advocates are going after retailers, especially huge

ones like walmart. senator chuck schumer saying just yesterday, tried to shame walmart into halting gun sales. >> it is hard to believe that walmart, the nation's largest retailer, is being so irresponsible on this issue. i would hope that people would think twice about going to walmart if they persist in this attitude. >> let me go to george howell. you've been following this part of the story and so a protest is planned in newtown at a walmart tomorrow. >> right. >> what do organizers expect out of that? >> well, brooke, you know, first of all, you hear these mothers from the sandy hook promise, you can tell there is a great deal of sadness around this issue. but you also find frustration. people are fed up. they're tired of waiting on legislators, tired of waiting on the president. they want to take action. they want to put pressure on retailers like walmart so you find this group, some of us.org created a petition, garnered some 250,000 signatures and

tomorrow they plan to protest, brooke, in front of a walmart there in newtown, to hand that -- those signatures over and to make the point, they say that, you know, people shouldn't go to a store where you can buy diapers, where you can buy baby food and also be able to buy semi-automatic rifles. >> so, we know, on gun issues, going through congress, we know the vice president now has given his proposals to the president. should be getting details on that later in the week. here is the but. we don't really know what will get through congress. that's the big sort of question. but how much of a difference, george, could grassroots groups like this one really make here? >> well, you know, when you look at the number of signatures, it is a signature number of people who signed on to this. there is a new gallup poll that makes the point. some 38% of americans disapprove of the current gun laws. that's up pretty substantially from 25% a year ago, so you can tell that the pressure of these grassroots efforts, it is making an impact.

we haven't heard from walmart yet on this particular petition or the other grassroots efforts. but the company did, brooke, give a statement to our gary tuchman, just a month ago. listen to what they had to say. >> all of our decisions are based on what our customers want, and the law. and, of course, if the law were to change, you know, we would follow the law. one of our sayings at walmart is the customer is number one, that's who we focus on, that's who we listen to. they guide our decisions. >> so, brooke, again, this group doesn't want walmart to sell assault weapons. but i want to make one distinction. walmart does not sell assault rifles, they sell semi-automatic weapons. some consider those semi-automatic weapons to be a part of assault weapons. and they say that walmart promised to stop doing that back in 2004. they want to see that promise kept. >> okay. george howell, thank you. >> thank you. to breaking news here that we're hearing at cnn about lance

armstrong. we are now getting word that he just apologized to the livestrong staff. keep in mind, this is happening on the very day lance armstrong is sitting down with a one on one interview with oprah winfrey. we're gathering the facts. slap!] ow! ow! [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium-rich tums starts working so fast you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums hi, i'm ensure clear... clear, huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've got nine grams of protein. that's three times more than me! [ female announcer ] ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat. in blueberry/pomegranate and peach.

back to that breaking news here about lance armstrong today. we are getting word he has just apologized to the staff of the livestrong organization. this happening on the day he is sitting down with oprah winfrey, he's chosen that one and only interview to discuss things. what he will be discussing we do not know. but ed lavandera, straight to you, you're the one here in

dallas with some of this information on what was this a meeting with livestrong, a face to face, what did he say? >> reporter: well, the headquarters for the livestrong foundation is in austin, texas, not far from where lance armstrong lives. it was just a head of this interview we were told by a representative there with livestrong foundation that lance armstrong came over to the headquarters, about midday today, and offered his apology to the staff there. so you can take that to mean what we probably, i think the world expects now at this point, suggesting that lance armstrong is apologizing for perhaps lying about using performance enhancing drugs over the last 12, 13, 14, 15 years that he was in racing and winning the seven tour de france titles as well. so kind of a significant moment there. i don't have a lot of details as to exactly what was said or how it was said or what the mood was in the room. we'll continue working on all of that, but all of this in anticipation of the interview

which we suspect will be taking place in here in the next couple of hours at his home in the austin, texas, area, with oprah winfrey this afternoon. >> okay. so before i move off you, ed, you said you're getting some of the information. do we have any reaction from livestrong once lance armstrong was basically apologizing? how did they react to that? >> that's what we're trying to figure out now. we just -- so far just to confirm that lance armstrong had actually gone to the headquarters there in person and delivered that message to the staff, but exactly how it was said and how it was received, which i think is the very important part of althis, and the very telling part of all of this, we're still trying to figure it out. >> okay, ed lavandera, thank you for your reporting. we'll let you make more phone calls and get on that. i want to continue the discussion about lance armstrong. for over a decade, he has been denying it. >> i said it for seven years, i said it for longer than seven years. i have never doped. i can say it again, i said it for seven years, it doesn't

help. why would i then enter into a sport and dope myself up and risk my life again? that's crazy. i would never do that. that's -- no. no way. >> well, tonight, lance armstrong is expected to confess to the doping that cost him his seven tour de france titles. in just a couple of hours, as ed lavandera mentioned, he'll be sitting down with oprah winfrey, saying he is ready to speak candidly. we also heard this hour, as ed was reporting, he went to the austin headquarters for livestrong to apologize. after years and years of denials under oath, question we're asking here is could coming clean now see armstrong thrown behind bars for perjury. lisa bloom is here with me in l.a. lisa, welcome. >> thank you. >> wow. we don't know. hearing ed lavandera's reporting, the fact he went personally and apologizing, you can sort of read between the lines but we don't know whether he's saying yes, i did it.

>> right. so if he did it, legally wrong, but morally right to confess. let me explain. any lawyer is going to say, do not confess. do not go on oprah and say that you doeped all these years afte you lied about it? there have a lot of legal ramifications, potential perjury charges. >> let me stop you on the perjury charge. what if he does confess that happens, he's convicted of perjury, could he go to jail? >> yes, he could. look at marion jones. it happened to people who lied under oath. so certainly could. he's had contracts with sponsors, which i am sure had the morals clause that you can't break the law and specifically for athletes usually includes a clause you can't dope. he signed that. would very to phe have to pay b millions of dollars? >> what if nike says, you wronged us? >> there was a paper in the uk he sued for libel because they said a few years ago he was doping. he won a judgment.

>> thousands of thousands of dollars. >> that's right. they would likely ask for that money back with interest and attorneys fees. this is a big mess for him legally. as an attorney, if he were my client, i would tell him, don't do it. i have to say, as a human being, i think confession is good for the soul. if he really did do it, i would advise him to get his attorneys behind the scenes at least trying to make deals to soften the blow for him legally, to minimize his liability. but probably good for the soul as a human being to come clean, you know, go forward with your life, right? wouldn't we have more respect for him? >> of course we would. i'm thinking about this attorney of lance armstrong's now, probably a little nervous, a little nervous. >> i'm sure his attorney said don't do it. but it is the client's decision. if he wants to go forward and go on oprah and come clean, i would tell him, as an attorney myself who represents a lot of people in high profile situations where they messed up, if you are going to confess, fully confess this time. >> what does that mean? >> don't do it piecemeal. don't say i doeped once or thre

times ten years ago. >> own the whole thing? >> the whole thing out there, once and for all, don't do it little by little. that's how people tend to do it. you think of your kids, parents out there, if they make a mistake, maybe they'll admit to a little of it and next day a little bit later. look at john edwards. he admitted a little bit at a time, and so the press really had a field day with him. >> back to jail time, as you men mentioned marion jones, how much time could you be talking? >> six months, maybe a couple of years is the maximum but he doesn't have any prior criminal convictions. what he needs to be concerned about, though, is the monetary. going to prison for a few months is a big deal. but the monetary implications -- >> if he had so many sponsors, nike is huge. what could they -- give me a possible scenario. >> they could sue him for the return of millions of dollars. >> millions. >> they paid him. and generally the statute of limitations, the time you have to sue in a fraud case only starts ticking when you discover the fraud. so all of these years he lied,

allegedly, and said i didn't do it, i didn't do it, saw the tape on larry king. and now if he's going to come out and say i did do it, i would say the clock starts tick today on those fraud claims. >> lisa bloom, what an interview to be a fly on that wall, right, between lance armstrong and oprah winfrey. >> if anybody can get it out of him, it will be oprah. >> lisa bloom, thank you so much. legal analyst. we'll have much more on our breaking story at the top of the hour. but, coming up next, some news, some good news here on the condition of george h.w. bush, who, as you know, has been in the hospital for nearly two months now. stay right here. stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back with great ideas like our optional better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call...

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developing as i speak, cnn has confirmed that former president george h.w. bush left the hospital today. this after nearly two months of treatment for bronchitis, and other issues. in fact, at one point in time, the 88-year-old spent time in the intensive care unit in the hospital. in a statement, the president thanked the doctors and the nurses at methodist hospital in houston. a prominent governor declares a health emergency and supplies of the flu vaccine suddenly very tough to find. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th, five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story.

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the house of representatives getting back to work today. the senate returns next week. congress' first order of business, voting on $51 billion for superstorm sandy victims. of course, we'll also watch for new gun control policy ideas as well, and we are paying a lot of attention to the ongoing debt ceiling debate and potential government shutdown. more on that in a moment. all but three states are in the midst of this grip of widespread flu. look at this map. california, hawaii, and mississippi, and in parts of new york, getting a flu shot has been very, very tough. governor cuomo declared a public health emergency, there has been a run on the vaccine there. tony zarelli said he knows where the body of jimmy hoffa is buried. he says hoffa was buried in a field, just outside of detroit, with plans to rebury hoffa

further away, quote/unquote, upstate. but he says the second burial never happened. here's what he told tv station wnbc. >> how certain are you that jimmy hoffa is buried here in this field? >> well, i'm as certain as i could possibly be. if i had money, i would bet a big sum of money he's buried over here. >> how about that? jimmy hoffa last seen in 1975 when he was 62 years old. her battle with a rare blood disorder has played out on morning television. but today, "good morning america" host robin roberts appeared on air with some great news. >> the last bone marrow test showed no abnormalities. majority of the marrow is my sister's and it is healthy. praise god. and what all this means, my

doctors are waiting for this information to be able to tell me that i can begin the process of returning to the anchor chair. i'm coming home. >> thank goodness for her. we, of course, wish her well. the 52-year-old told her fellow hosts she'll be doing what she called a dry run behind the scenes next week. she doesn't plan to return until next month. the wait for justin timberlake fans is over. he released a new single earlier today. take a listen. ♪ and as long as i got my suit and tie ♪ ♪ i'll show you a few things noelt. >> some dancing in in the studio. digging it. called "suit and tie." he says it will be on the upcoming album he's calling the "2020 experience," his first new album since 2006. and then there is this.

hip-hop has officially moved from the streets and the clubs to the ivory tower. the l.a. times is reporting that university of arizona, now the first in the country to offer a minor in hip-hop studies. i see you cringing to my right. ben stein. the elevation in academic stature came naturally. the school offered classes in the subject since 2004. you can minor in hip-hop. st. james palace released the due date for the first child, william and catherine's baby is due in july. the couple had to reveal that kate was pregnant because she was hospitalized last month with acute morning sickness. well, we're moving off minoring in hip-hop and we'll talk economics here. president obama, maybe we'll talk hip-hop as well, in a final

formal news conference before he takes the oath of office here in his second term spoke this morning, pushing for support on raising the debt ceiling. >> and republicans in congress have two choices here. they can act responsibly and pay america's bills, or they can act irresponsibly and put america through another economic crisis. but they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the american economy. the financial well-being of the american people is not leverage to be used. the full faith and credit of the united states of america is not a bargaining chip. and they better choose quickly because time is running short. >> so the president says there will be no ransom, you heard him say no bargaining chip in this whole debt ceiling debate. the deadline to raise that ceiling is approaching quickly. some members in congress say they're willing to shut down the government to avoid raising that

limit now. joining me now is ben stein. nice to have you in person. >> honored to be here. i'm very sorry the weather is so cold here in l.a. we apologize. >> coldest day i hear in 21 years. >> least 21 years. >> so weather aside, let's talk about the debt ceiling. just for people to understand, this is not a matter of the government raising credit limit. this is a matter of raising the limit so that they can pay for what is already been bought. >> right. it is extremely important. there is really a choice -- three choices. one, operate unconstitutionally which is what senator harry reid is proposing and pay the bills without having the money. two, raise the debt limit. three, do something like pay only 40% of the bills as they become due because we are now, as a government, borrowing roughly 40% of every dollar we spend. that's a terrible situation. and with respect to president obama, he's completely correct, but he's not really talking about the elephant, the republican and also american elephant in the room, which is the government is just spending

too much money. they're just spending money we don't have, we're heading towards a default, we're heading towards a real crisis. they're just spending too much money. >> so to go with his analogy of dining and ditching, if you're going to a restaurant, you're saying we're buying filet mignon when we shouldn't be. >> we should not be doing it. we have to get our country structurally correct and we're structurally in a deficit situation, so big, we're going to have $20 trillion deficit within maybe 36 months and we're going to be doubling that with a really not very long period of time and we're going to be in a situation where we'll never be able to pay our bills and be compelled to default. we have got to get the spending under control. >> i want to talk about a potential doomsday scenario and defaulting, but what do you make of the president saying i'm not negotiating with congress on this? i'm not doing that? >> well, that's ridiculous. he's the president and it is the republican house of representatives, of course he has to negotiate with them. he always says -- >> why say that? >> it is a form of negotiation. that is -- >> that is a form of

negotiation, saying i won't negotiate? >> i'm going to give you a tiny bit of a history lesson. there used to be a big guy at ge who used to say to the unions, i'm not negotiating, it didn't work. this isn't going to work. of course he has to negotiate. >> okay. okay. what about doomsday scenario. let me run through this. u.s. would default on treasury bonds, send markets into a tail spin, would cripple the u.s. economy, hearing ali velshi saying our chief business guy basically saying this is way worse than anything we talked about when it comes to the fiscal cliff. and you, my friend, you're not sunshine and lollipops all the time. >> it is not a trivial matter. it is a very, very big matter. but it is supposedly default on the u.s. debt, we would give people instruments saying when the debt limit was addressed seriously, when it was resolv, they would get their money, so there would be -- and plus interest on it. so that will be resolved. but let's just -- it is very, very serious. we have been living beyond our means for a very long time.

and chickens are coming home to roost. he's got to negotiate. but the republicans have to negotiate too. i mean, i've been a republican probably twice as long as you've been alive, and i will say the republicans have got to get up and say we're going to act responsibly here. he has to act responsibly too. >> quickly, colin powell saying the republicans had a dark vein of intolerance. >> i read several articles about it. i don't believe it. the republicans have many more african-americans in the cabinet at this point than president obama -- or several more than president obama does. they have been trying desperately to reach out to minorities. i think at one point they were looking for the racist vote. that was a very, very long time ago. they're fully committed to being a multiethnic open party, and to call them otherwise is just preposterous. >> ben stein. >> honored to be here. i'm so sorry it is cold. >> we'll deal with it. thank you. ben stein, appreciate it. a congresswoman who meets with the vice president today behind closed doors, she's going to talk to me. that is next.

we'll ask california's jackie speier about the best ways to reduce gun violence next. one ha♪ ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ ♪make just one someone happy ♪and you will be happy too.

we talked about the president's news conference today and the hard-line he drew with congress when it comes to the debt limit. the other bit of news concerns his gun violence effort. he said the recommendations he asked of the vice president are on his desk right now. keep in mind, the deadline is tomorrow. with me now from washington, representative jackie speier, democrat of california. she is a member of the house. congresswoman, welcome. >> thank you. nice to be with you. >> the house democratic task force here on gun violence, this is what -- you're part of this,

you attended a briefing today given by the vice president. that's why we wanted to talk to you and we'll talk about that here in a moment. but, first, let's listen to the president on what he might be proposing. >> well, you can count on is that the things that i've said in the past, the belief that we have to have stronger background checks, that we can do a much better job in terms of keeping these magazine clips with high capacity out of the hands of folks who shouldn't have them, an assault weapons ban that is meaningful, that those are things i continue to believe make sense. >> congresswoman speier, you were in that briefing with the vice president. did he give you any hints as to what might be in this proposal? >> he reiterated what he believed the president was absolutely committed to, an assault weapon ban, and a high capacity magazine ban. he also spoke about what the president can do by executive

action. and there were some 19 different things that the president can do. he didn't go into all of them. but certainly they will be considered by the president, much like george h. bush, president clinton and george w. bush used executive action to try and, in one situation, restrict and in the other, open up the access to imported ak-47s and ar-15s. so i think that there is much that needs to be done. there is much that can be done. and i'm not going to let just one bill be the defining way that we address this issue. >> congresswoman this is personal for you in a way, because you are probably one of the few members of congress who actually has been shot multiple times. can you tell me about that? >> i was shot in guiana in 1978.

when you survive something like that, and others perish, as did congressman ryan at the time and a number of nbc reporters and camera men, you feel an absolute obligation to do what you can to make sure these kinds of events don't happen again. there is, in fact, a mass killing happening in this country every single day. 32 people lose their lives every day. and it took the death of children in newtown that woke us up to the fact that we have got to do some common sense things. we talk about responsible gun ownership, we talk about responsible dealers. well, right now the laws in this country don't guarantee that guns get into responsible hands only and that dealers are only responsible. and we have to make sure that all of them are. >> but, you know, as part of these listening sessions that took place at the white house last week, had the nra there, and the head of the nra spoke with candy crowley yesterday. here is a portion of that interview.

>> when a president takes all the power of his office, if he's willing to expend political capital, you don't want to make predictions. you don't want to bet your house on the outcome. i would say that the likelihood is that they are not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this congress. >> you mentioned assault weapons ban, one of the items the vice president mentioned possibly as part of his proposal. you heard what he just said, that coming from the nra. what do you think? >> well, the nra is going to use the muscle that it has used in prior congresses to try and fear, put fear into members' voting decisions, trying to tell them they're going to lose their elections. interestingly enough, in 2008, more recently in 2012, the nra did very poorly in terms of getting their candidates elected. we have got to do what's right for the american people. we shouldn't have a situation where people are afraid to go to a movie, to go -- to take their

kids to school, to just carry on their lives without fear that there is going to be a gunman there spraying an assault weapon at them. so we have to take some steps. the fact that our background check does not even address 40% of the guns that are purchased in this country a year is just unexplainable. we have got to take steps to make sure we close those loopholes, make sure the dealers, in fact, aren't selling guns, that become crime guns. and that if they do, that they have to pay penalties. >> i know many of the american people are awaiting the details from this proposals that should be coming out later this week. we should hear from the president. congressman speier, thank you. >> my pleasure. up next, my red carpet chats with some of the hottest celebrities in hollywood right now. that's why i'm here in los angeles. big night last night. talked to claire danes, talked to lena dunham from hbo's

"girls." and this guy. joplin, missouri, come back from a devastating tornado. man: and now we're helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. we're a leading global insurance company, based right here in america. we've repaid every dollar america lent us. everything, plus a profit of more than $22 billion. for the american people. thank you, america. helping people recover and rebuild -- that's what we do. now let's bring on tomorrow.

i was fortunate enough to get to cover the golden globe awards last night in hollywood. and i have done political conventions, i did the diamond jubilee in london and now my very first hollywood red carpet. by now we all know the winners. ben affleck, arguo, les mis, daniel day-lewis' "lincoln." i want to focus on the moments here, the funny, and the heart felt. on stage, and behind the scenes. >> can we talk about your tats. i want to know what they are. >> they all come from children's

books. this is ferdinand the bull. i have eloise at the plaza on my lower back. i have an assortment of childhood efemmera. >> way tonigi want to give a sh. >> can i get a this is cnn from you? >> hello, i'm rory mcilroy, this is cnn. >> tina fey and amy poehler are getting rave reviews today. they were gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, but hilarious as well. >> tonight, we honor the television shows that have entertained us all year as well as the films that have only been in theaters for two days. >> that's what makes tonight so special. only at the golden globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat face people of television. >> they, of course, co-hosted the globes. there was the moment, here he was, jaws dropped collectively there at the beverly hilton when

former president bill clinton strolled on stage to introduce the movie "lincoln." >> a tough fight to push a bill through a bitterly divided house of representatives. winning it required the president to make a lot of unsavory deals that had nothing to do with the big issue. i wouldn't know anything about that. >> people are still parsing today, the famously private jodie foster's acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award. >> i have given everything up there from the time that i was 3 years old. that's reality show enough, don't you think? >> but would you like to know the highlight of my night? it was getting to meet and interview 26, 26, quickly going on 27, lena dunham who won best tv actress and comedy for one of my favorite shows on right now,

"girls" on hbo. so watch this. >> i just wanted to start, sorry, i'm super shaky. i wanted to start by saying the other nominees in this category are women that inspire me deeply and have made me laugh and comforted me at the darkest moments of my life. julia, tina, amy and zoe respectively have gotten me through middle school. and i worship them. >> "girls". >> yes. >> this is like crazy successful and you are 20 -- >> 26. 27 in may. >> have you wrapped your brain around this yet, this success you're having? >> it is a hard thing. it is just amazing to -- i'm not articulate about it. it is amazing to have an audience response to something so personal to you and to get to be in a room like this with so many people you admire, there is no way to talk about it without sounding completely cheesy. >> it is the writing and the delivery. the actresses and actors in the show pull it off. i'm addicted. >> thank you. i have an amazing casting director, jennifer houston, incredible cast, people are my close friends.

the collaborative nature of it, it never stops. we're collaborating up until the last moment. up until the edit, yeah. >> you push the envelope in this show. it makes people come back. i'm sure it offends some people. but at the same time, why do you -- why do you -- why did you want to embrace that element and do those things? it is hbo, you can. >> i feel like, yes, when you're at hbo, they don't bleep anything out. i felt like there was a certain realism lacking from the portrayal of women in their 20s. i thought that sort of part of that -- part of that lack was from not -- was from shying away from sexual content and from political content and i really just wanted to make a show that captured the lives of my friends, a unique, ballsy and completed group of girls. >> it is realistic. that is what translates so totally well. >> thank you. >> let me ask you this, i'm doing something for glamour magazine. they wanted to ask me five questions on how younger people want to become journalists. i want to ask you, because i'm

sure you're hit up all the time, young people want to write and act and be successful in their 20s. what one thing would you tell young women? >> i think the most amazing thing about being a storyteller now for lack of a better word is there is so much available to you, you know, innovative, but inexpensive technology. the internet, an environment where you can -- if you have a story to tell, you can find the people who want to hear it, and so i think not sort of trying to fit yourself into any box or wait for permission to have your story told, but to use all these amazing modern resources. >> could not have been nicer. that was before she won, keep in mind. lena dunham, congratulations to you. up next, an review of natalie wood's autopsy. it is a new twist in the mystery involving the actress' death. before copd...

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this just in to us here at cnn. the los angeles county coroner has just come out with this new report on the death of actress natalie wood. here's the new detail. the manner of her death is now considered, quote/unquote, drowning and other undetermined factors. drowning and other undetermined factors. last year, investigators reopened the case, confirming that wood drowned off california's catalina island. officials removed the quote/unquote, accidental finding, given after her death back in 1981. today's report also says that

bruising found on wood likely happened before she entered the water. and much more on our breaking news here in to cnn about lance armstrong. we're just getting word he's apologized in person, went to the livestrong headquarters in austin, texas, to apologize. more on that in a live report next. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please?

well, dad, i spent my childhood living with monks learning the art of dealmaking. you've mastered monkey-style kung fu? no. priceline is different now. you don't even have to bid. master hahn taught you all that? oh, and he says to say (translated from cantonese) "you still owe him five bucks." your accent needs a little work. excuse me, maestro? bring it (orchestra plays softer) better. that's what happens to background noise, when you're making a call on this.

this microphone here, picks up the sounds around you and helps turn them down. (orchestra plays louder) so when the world gets noisy -- calls sound better. top of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. live here in los angeles today. and our breaking news, lance armstrong, we spent decade fending off claims he used performance enhancing drugs. but, in a matter of hours he is expected to come clean in an interview with oprah winfrey, confessing to the doping that cost him his seven tour de france titles. we have also learned here, just in last hour, that he has now apologized to his staff at livestrong. that happened around noon today, in texas.

certainly a sign that this interview could be explosive because the question is, what is he apologizing for? will he then be confessing with oprah winfrey? that's the big question. we're going to talk to ed lavandera, gathering the detaildetail president obama taking questions. top of the agenda, the debt ceiling. the president says there is absolutely no room for negotiation, the ceiling has to be raised. one reporter pressed the president on that point. here's what he said. >> in the summer of 2011, you said that you wouldn't negotiate on the debt ceiling. and you did. last year you said that you wouldn't extend any of the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. and you did. so as you say now that you're not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling this year, why should house republicans take that seriously and think that if we get to the one minute to

midnight scenario that you're not going to back down? >> first of all, julianna, let's take the example of this year and the fiscal cliff. i didn't say that i would not have any conversations at all about extending the bush tax cuts. what i said was we weren't going to extend bush tax cuts for the wealthy. and we didn't. >> joining me now, john king, john king, welcome, welcome. help me understand what exactly the president is saying. is he saying he absolutely will not negotiate with congress when it comes to the debt ceiling? and to point out, i had ben stein on, an economist. he said, brooke, saying not negotiating is a negotiating tact tactic. >> ben is correct in that regard. what the president is saying, he's not going to repeat two years ago. he did get involved in detailed negotiations and the president, in that same news conference, said if the republicans feel they have to have some package of spending cuts to go with raising the debt ceiling, then let them put their own plan together and see if they can get the votes in congress.

he's not going to help them. he said he was not going to let the republicans put a gun to the head of the american people, or he was not going to let them attach a ransom. the president used tough language today and part of what he was saying is i won the election, and i've looked at the public opinion polling and i'm in a strong political position, the american people will blame you, not me, if we get to this point again. so let's pass an increase in the debt ceiling and then let's have a conversation about taxes and spending and a bigger deficit reduction package. he does not want to connect the two, but during the president's press conference and after, republicans are saying, sorry, mr. president, we do want to connect the two, meaning a bigger package of cuts and the like. so we are at what we call gridlock, loggerheads, you pick the term. >> let's throw another term out there, heard you talking to wolf, mentioning deficit. not when it comes to our nation's finances, but this trust deficit in washington. the republicans, you have the president, doing this, boom, and just how is this even going to play out over the next couple of weeks? >> well, you have the debt ceiling, which is the current

fight. and what you have is confrontation, not conversation. how is it going to play out? again, the president believes he has the political high ground now and he believes he's -- he believes his position is right. that you don't want to negotiate over the debt ceiling, let's have a bigger conversation. the republicans, they control the house of representatives, they still have a decent chunk of votes, the democrats control the senate, they say no way, sir. and so you have this fight over the debt ceiling, but it is about bigger issues. the debt ceiling has nothing to do with immigration reform, nothing to do with the proposals on gun control, nothing to do with anything else the president might want to do in his second term, but guess what, it does affect the climate in washington. and the fact that he does not have a more trusting, even a private back channel relationship with the key republican leaders is one of the -- one of the reasons and they had responsibility too, i'm not putting it all on the president it a washington crisis if you will, a trust deficit. it is one of the reasons -- >> mitch mcconnell talking. >> so you have to have the vice president go to the senate republican leader, two guys -- they're not best of friends. trust me. i know them both. they're not best of friends.

they do trust each other. mitch mcconnell knows if joe biden gives him his word, it is good. we need more of that in washington, not less. >> let me ask you, since i have you, something else the president mentioned, asked, of course, about gun violence in this country. here we are, one month since the horrendous shootings in newtown, connecticut. and we now know that he has the vice president's proposals on his desk. what should we be hearing about the proposals, john? >> this is going to be a fascinating test of the president, brooke. what he wants to do and how much he's willing to spend of his own political capital to get it in the second term. because what he wants to do is big things. immigration reform, a fight with the republican base. gun control, that means a fight with the republican base. this debt ceiling and the other spending and tax issues, that means a fight with the republican base. if you thought the election was going to bring kumbaya to washington, today's press conference told you you're wrong. the president was fascinating. he made crystal clear an assault weapons ban proposal is

something he would like. he also said i don't know if the votes are there in congress. he's going to take some steps using executive power. he's going to ask the congress to do some other things. the question is this, if he proposes an assault weapons ban, and then -- he's a few votes shy in congress, what will he do? will he say, i tried? or will he actually travel the country, will he demand the american people call -- will he muscle and essentially stop other things to make it a priority like he did health care or walk away from it? this will be one of the big fascinating tests of what are his top priorities in term two. >> it will be fascinating. it will be huge, we'll be following it right along with you, mr. king. john king, thank you very much, for me, in washington today. as we pointed out, newtown, newtown, connecticut, today, marks exactly one month since a gunman killed those 20 children and six adults at sandy hook elementary school. and some of the people in town, they have banded together. you see the ribbons there on their lapels here, they banded together in the aftermath to try to find a positive response to

the tragedy. the result, this is what was unveiled this morning, it is called the sandy hook promise. two mothers who lost their children that day read the group's mission statement. here they were. >> the sandy hook promise. our hearts are broken. our spirit is not. and it is with this knowledge that we are able to move forward with purpose and strength. this is a promise to support our own -- our families, our neighbors, our teachers, our community with dedication and love as well as the material and financial needs they will require in the days ahead. this is a promise to truly honor the lives lost by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation. this is a promise to be open to all possibilities. there is no agenda other than to make our communities and our nation a safer, better place. this is a promise to have the

conversations on all the issues, conversations where listening is as important as speaking, conversations where even those with the most opposing views can debate in goodwill. >> this is a promise to turn the conversation into actions, things must change. this is the time. this is a promise we make to our precious children, because each child, every human life, is filled with promise, and though we continue to be filled with unbearable pain, we choose love, belief, and hope instead of anger. this is a promise to do everything in our power to be remembered not as the town filled with grief and victims, but as the place where real change began. our hearts are broken. our spirit is not. this is our promise, the sandy

hook promise. >> the sandy hook promise. two mothers standing strong, one month after losing their little ones in newtown. more is promised on the breaking news out of texas. we're getting word that lance armstrong has just apologized to the staff at livestrong. ed lavandera joining me live from dallas. ed, there has been some speculation, you know, maybe this was a partial confession. do we know tnow think there wil full admission to doping? >> reporter: there were reports over the last week or so that suggested that is what will happen and based on what we're now learning has transpired here or there in austin, texas, this afternoon, surely seems to suggest that's the way all of this is headed, which wouldn't be of great surprise to many people. but, just heard from someone at the livestrong foundation who was there today and the description of what happened came to me like this, lance came to the livestrong foundation's

headquarters today for a private conversation with our staff and offered a sincere and heart felt apology for the stress they have endured because of him, and urged them to keep up their great work fighting for people affected by cancer. we pressed to try to get any details, if part of this talk today including lance armstrong admitting to using performance enhancing drugs to the staff there, the people we talked to have refused to answer those parts of the question, saying it was a private meeting and exactly how far lance went in speaking with the staff there isn't exactly clear at that point, or even if he decided to bring it up. but all of this, as you mentioned, brooke, just as lance armstrong if he's not already doing it, about to sit down with oprah winfrey for this wide ranging interview, which is supposed to air on thursday night. brooke? >> right, right. of course, the questions you point out, will he confess? i spoke with an attorney here, a legal analyst, lisa bloom, i asked her, here he spent years and years of denying using any

performance enhancing drugs under oath. is this a good idea to confess? here is what she told me? >> any lawyer will say do not confess, do not go on oprah and say that you doped all these years after you lied about it. why? there are a lot of legal ramifications to it. potential perjury charges because he testified in front of a jury under oath he did not. >> let me stop you on the perjury charge. what if he confesses, could he go to jail? >> yes, he could. look at marion jones, happened to her. happened to people who have lied under oath. >> so, again, ed lavandera, back to you, any moment now lance armstrong could be sitting down with oprah winfrey. what do we know about the interview? how long is it supposed to last? are there parameters? >> reporter: from the reports i've read, it could be anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. obviously the brunt of it will air thursday night. i would imagine, often as the case in high profile interviews like this, whoever is doing them, releases snippets of the

interview to build up promotion for the interview as well. i read several reports about any potential perjury reports and the statute of limitations on that might have passed, which could explain why he's open to -- >> able to do this. >> reporter: exactly to some degree. you're right to hit on the points, there are other legal issues that lance armstrong, various companies want to sue him for bonuses he was paid for his winnings of the tour de france, as well as a federal whistle-blower lawsuit that floyd landis, a former teammate, has filed and whether or not they defrauded the u.s. postal service, one of the main sponsors for many of lance armstrong's races. there is a great deal many legal issues that obviously lance armstrong has to deal with and consider as he prepares to sit down and answer these questions. and so to that extent, it will be interesting to see how revealing he is and how much he's willing to confess about the way he won these seven

titles and essentially made a name for himself in the sport of cycling. >> stunning. interview happening any moment now with oprah winfrey. we will all, i suppose, have to wait, wait and see what and how and if he confesses. ed lavandera. thank you, ed. up next, "argo" wins huge at the golden globes. in los angeles, iran now says it will make a movie, telling the story of what really happened in tehran with those american hostages. hala gorani has the scoop. she's next. humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes we trip ourselves up. but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance, we can untrip you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you need them most. just call... and speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married... move into a new house...

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one of the darlings of the golden globes last night, "argo," awarded best drama, star, ben aflick, also winning

best director. this film is based upon this declassified true story of the cia's rescue of u.s. diplomats during the iranian hostage crisis. >> you have 72 hours to get them out. >> you have a visitor. >> asking us to trust you with our lives. >> this is what i do and i've never left anyone behind. >> you know who they are, you know where they're hiding out. >> they will be taken. probably not alive. ♪ dream on >> we're responsible for these people. ♪ dream on dream on dream on ♪ >> none of it is going to make a difference when there is a gun to our heads. >> i love that movie. also up for a couple of oscars. in iran, response to the film, not been so great. iran's state run broadcaster press tv writing this, let me

quote them, the iran phobic american movie attempts to describe iranians as overemotional, irrational, insane, and diabolical while at the same time the cia agents are represented as heroically patriotic. so, given that, iran decided to hit back. a film called "the general's staff" now in the works to tell their side of the story. cnn international's hala gorani joins me now with more on this. iran says their version based on eyewitness accounts. how do the two differ? >> reporter: it is unclear whether it will be a remake about this particular event, depicted in "argo", the story of six american hostages who found refuge at the canadian ambassador's residence in tehran in 1979, or a parallel event. because what we're understanding there from the semiofficial iranian news agency is that this is going to be about the release of 20 american hostages who were delivered to the united states by the revolutionaries. so this is not the same number.

as i said, six were in the canadian ambassador's residence in tehran. it could be one of the political events where very early on, brooke, that 444 day crisis, a group of americans including one american with a medical condition, was handed back to the united states. but what iran is saying, and you read that quote there from the government, is saying, look, we are going to take control of the message here, we are going to tell our own story, the way we know it happened. based on eyewitness accounts in iran. nothing to do with "argo" that had nonsympathetic iranian characters throughout. not in production yet, though, brooke. we'll have to wait and see. >> not in production yet. so, how much of this will really be spent in propaganda coming from tehran? >> reporter: just a question of essentially seeing what the final product is. you can -- based on the entity within the iranian government that is going to produce this

and provide the funding, you can imagine that they want to control the message of what actually happened in 1979, including some of the things they say the united states has historically presented inaccurately, essentially, some of the hostages were treated extremely poorly. we're going to have to wait and see. it is interesting because if you have "argo" on the one hand being one version of events and then the iranian production, another version of at least at the very least a similar time period, even if it is not that particular story of fabricating a fake movie in tehran in order to get the six american hostages out it going to be interesting. remember which movie won best foreign film at the oscars last year? it was an iranian film, not produced by the government, necessarily, but iranian film these days the s is doing very . you'll remember "operation" that won best foreign film at the oscars. >> did you see "argo"? >> reporter: i did.

i went back home and fact checked every single thing presented in the film. and, look, hey, it is a hollywood movie. it is not meant to be a documentary. there were some inaccuracies. >> it is a film. >> reporter: even the british were a little upset because in the movie, it was the -- there was a sequence of events that presented the british ambassador as having rejected the u.s. hostages and not wanting to shelter them and the british ambassador at the time, who was assigned to tehran was angered by that. you have that final scene of the chase on the tarmac, none of that happened. it is a hollywood film that is based on a true story. i look forward to seeing the iranian version. >> i just know i walked out of there after not being able to breathe for two hours, so in us is pennsylvania, evsuspense, ev end, thinking what do we not even know about yet, right? >> this happened under president carter which he could have used perhaps at the time but not able to talk about in detail.

>> amazing. hala gorani, thank you. >> yes. he changed the face of the internet before he could even get his driver's license. but did the legal pitfalls of the online world drive aaron swartz to suicide? we're going to talk live to a friend, former attorney, when we come back.

aaron swartz, he's not a household name, but what he's done in his lifetime, you can arguably say impacts everyone with a computer. he helped popularize rss, and reddit.com later became a digital activist. he helped spearhead the push that ended so eed sopa, the stoe

piracy act. just this past friday night, aaron swartz hanged himself at the age of 26. friends said he did suffer from depression. but his partner and family also pla blame an outside force for pushing him over the edge. the u.s. attorney in massachusetts, and a justice system, they say, that is quote/unquote, rife with intimidation. swartz was facing reported 35 years for allegedly stealing more than 18 million pages of documents from a server at mit. federal prosecutors say these photos here show swartz breaking into the school's computer closet. his guilt may never be known. but it was well known that swartz believed in the power of the internet, and that everyone should have access to it. >> you have one person in one station deciding what gets put over the airwaves. when you have a distributed network like the internet, everybody can be a server. there is no distinction between

the broadcaster and the receiver. every computer does both. you can take your home laptop and run a server off of it that can distribute movies and music and web pages and e-mail in the same way that the biggest computers at google can. >> i want to bring in a friend and former attorney of aaron swartz, harvard law professor lawrence lessig. welcome. i'm sorry for the loss of your friend, but we wanted to bring you on to just help us understand who aaron swartz was, for everything i've read, he was internet prodigy, very bright young man with an incredible future ahead of him, but also a young man who allegedly broke the law. why do you think he did this? >> well, we have to be clear about what he was charged with doing. mit captured images of him leaving a server location where he had allegedly downloaded millions of academic journal

articles. these were, you know, articles like from the harvard law review or articles from psychiatry review, articles that, you know, anybody at the university had access to. according to the computer experts that looked at what he did, he set up a routine for downloading that material. because his download was inconsistent with the terms of service for jstor, the site which he downloaded the material for, the federal government said he had committed a felony. so they charged him with 13 counts of this indictment, which they said they would not settle unless he agreed he was a felon and served time in a federal jail. and my view is that's radically disproportionate to what he had done. in a world where -- >> you're not the only one. >> no. >> forgive me, but you're not the only one that feels that way, right? it was also family, family members of his who say that the prosecutors here when you talk about this huge indictment, were way too hard on him.

if i may, i wanted to quote you, your blog, swartz was driven to the edge by what a decent society would only call bullying. i get wrong, but i also get proportionality. if you don't get both, you don't deserve to have the power of the united states government behind you. but professor lessig, hackers can't be allowed to access and release any digital property they choose. what about trying to deter others? >> yeah. there is a big difference, i think, between breaking into government servers and releasing the social security database or breaking into government servers and releasing the names of agents who depend upon secrecy for their lives. and downloading from jstor, a private nonprofit company. academic journal articles which are doing nothing more than spreading the information that the authors of that article wanted spread. if you can't tell the difference

between those activities, then i would also say you don't deserve to be a federal prosecutor. the point here is that the government was trying to make an example of him. they were trying to say, look, you violate our extremely overbroad computer laws, and we're going to send you to jail. okay. i get what they were trying to do. but they need to get that their extreme behavior pushed him over the edge. and, you know, when that kind of bullying leads to somebody doing something tragic, typically the government says you should be responsible for the tragedy too. i think just like mit has taken responsibility, and said they will point at somebody, really respected professor to review all this, i think that the u.s. attorney in boston should do the same thing. she should say, i want to know whether what was done here was really consistent with the values and principles of the united states government. >> harvard law professor, lawrence lessig, thank you. [ fe0 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons

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bottom of the hour, i'm brooke baldwin. topping the news now, the national debate over gun control. heating up today. new york mayor michael bloomberg and maryland governor martin o'malley, today, opened this two-day summit, here they are in baltimore, on gun violence. mayor bloomberg, who co-chairs the group mayor against illegal guns, says it is not a second amendment issue. it is a public health crisis. >> every day of the year an average of 33 americans are murdered with guns. here is another way to think about what that means. one week from today, president obama will take the oath of office for his second term. and unless we take action during

those four years, some 48,000 americans will be killed with guns. >> the police chief in newtown, connecticut, was one of the very first people on the scene at sandy hook elementary school. and he now says he is absolutely haunted by what he saw that day. listen as he adds his voice to the call for tighter gun control. >> the ban on assault weapons, restrict the magazines that have so many bullets in them. >> you can expect to hear those words repeated in the coming days. supporters of gun control say at no time in history has there been a greater chance for something to be done. the white house working on stoppage to come up with the comprehensive plan in our series, the next four years, deborah feyerick looks at how this issue may play out. >> reporter: over 30,000 gun deaths in the u.s. every year. the challenge, gun control.

>> i lost my husband right before christmas. >> reporter: if anyone knows the pain of losing someone to gun violence, it is new york congresswoman carolyn mccarthy. her husband was killed in 1993, by a deranged gunman, in a mass shooting on the long island railroad. after years trying to pass tighter gun laws on capitol hill, she says it took the tragedy at sandy hook to unite public anger and political will. >> you know the time is different because there so much anger. why are we allowing this to continue to happen? >> reporter: on day one of the new congress, mccarthy and other lawmakers introduced or reintroduced eight bills to ban or control the sale of guns or ammunition. several senate bills are on the way. but all are far from a done deal. in his first term, president obama passed no laws limiting gun use. then sandy hook happened, a day mr. obama called the worst of his presidency. even before he is sworn in

again, he's expected to review proposals from his new gun task force. >> this is a team that has a very specific task to pull together real reforms right now. >> reporter: the white house is focused on a wide ranging plan involving more than just firearms and ammunition. on the table, reinstate the expired ban on assault weapons and limit magazines that have more than ten rounds. close the so-called gun show loophole to mandate background checks for all gun buyers. ensure better access to mental health care. improve school security. and review the cultural impact of violent movies and video games. vice president joe biden says it is possible the president could also act unilaterally on his own. >> the president is going to act, there are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. >> reporter: even the most vocal gun advocates have come to the table. last week, the nra met with a gun task force. walmart, the nation's largest firearms seller, reversed

itself, joining other gun retailers in a similar meeting. but tighter gun laws will not come without a fight. after sandy hook, the nra said the answer was more guns, not less. >> i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. >> reporter: meaningful gun control will take time. for those who have been fighting for decades, they feel the time is finally right. >> what we are heartened by is the genuine exploration of what are the things we can do, respectful of the second amendment, and law abiding gun owners, to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. >> reporter: deborah feyerick, cnn, new york. well, president obama says america is on its way to a good year when it comes to the economy. but there is a big if here. ali velshi has some thoughts. he's up next.

president obama says he won't negotiate any spending cuts with a gun held up to the head of the american people. from the cnn money newsroom, in new york, i'm ali velshi. this is your money. apple gets a bite taken out of its stock. toyota and gm are neck and neck again. first gold and now oil. california will be a

prospector's dream again. and stocks are up, but should they be? first, president obama spoke with reporters today emphasizing his position that the debt ceiling is not a license to spend more. it is about paying bills that congress has already agreed to. he likened it to stiffing the waiter at a nice restaurant after gorging on a meal. >> you don't go out to dinner, and then, you know, eat all you want, and then leave without paying the check. and if you do, you're breaking the law. >> u.s. hit the debt ceiling on december 31st. the treasury is using so-called extraordinary measures to put off any default on its obligations, probably until about the middle of february. by then, congress must raise the debt ceiling, otherwise the government can't pay all its bills. some congressional republicans apparently seriously considering risking a default on the ability of the u.s. to pay its loans or even a government shutdown in order to force the president and democrats to agree to spending

cuts. but president obama said today that republicans will not collect any ransom in exchange for a deal that puts the u.s. government on a crash diet. we are not a deadbeat nation, he said, strong words from the president that are sure to provoke, already provoking return fire from republicans, but in this case, the president couldn't be more right. this country needs to get a grip on spending, but messing with the debt ceiling is not the tool to use to do it. passing a real budget is the way to do that. on the money menu, investors took a bite out of apple stock today with shares falling more than 3%. the sell-off followed reports that apple has cut orders of iphone components because of lower demand. apple hasn't said if those reports are true, but its share price has been coming down since it released the iphone 5 in september. today's price briefly fell below $500. that's first time it has done that in almost a year meanwhile, the iphone will see more competition from the blackberry 10. the stock price for research in motion soared more than 8% in

trading today. plus, facebook is rumored to be getting into the phone business soon as well. toyota beat out general motors in global sales in 2012. gm sold 9.2 million cars globally. but toyota said it probably sold more. 9.7 million cars. gm was the number one automaker in the world, but will now have to cede that title back to toyota. back and forth a few times in the last few years. in the meantime, the cadillac ats, this is one sweet machine, made by gm, of course, captured the detroit auto show car of the year award. the ram 1500 got truck of the year. both vehicles could see their sales go up for 2013 on the strength of those prestigious awards. california would be headed for an oil boom. the monterey shale formation is said to hold 400 billion barrels of oil or one half the quantity that lies under the sands in saudi arabia. but california's oil is stuck in the rock. it is hard to get to. the energy department estimates 15 billion barrels are accessible using today's drilling technologies. that's more than what is found

in other large american formations in texas or north dakota. the government is starting to offer leases. oil companies are gobbling them up. too early to say, but there could be a black gold rush headed out west in the near future. that's it for me from the cnn money newsroom in new york. i'm ali velshi. same time tomorrow. i'm out. right in the old bucket. good toss! see that's much better! that was good. you had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. let's do it again -- watch me. just like that one... [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. pass down something he will be grateful for. good arm. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ back to you.

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today. that is significant because i was at the golden globes last night. i've covered political conventions, at the diamond jubilee in london last summer, but last night for me was a bit of a first. my first golden globes. my first hollywood red carpet. and by now we all know the winners, you had ben affleck and "argo," "les mis," daniel day-lewis in "lincoln" and jessica chastain in "zero dark thirty." i want to focus on the moment, the funny and the heart felt, both on stage and what we saw behind the scenes. >> can we first talk about your tats? i just wanted to know what they are. >> so all my tattoos come from children's books. this one is ferdinand the bull, i have eloise at the plaza on my lower back. i have an assortment of childhood ephemera. >> i want to give a shoutout to the home school. >> i know my things. i'm all over it. >> can i get this is cnn from you? >> hello, i'm will mcilroy, this

is cnn. >> thank you for that. here are the two lovely ladies who are hysterical, tina fey, amy poehler, today getting rave reviews for co-hosting the globes last night. >> tonight we honor the television shows that have entertained us all year as well as the films that have only been in theaters for two days. >> that's what makes tonight so special. only at the golden globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat face people of television. >> then there was the moment, look at this, when jaws dropped, former president bill clinton strolled on stage there at the beverly hilton to introduce the film "lincoln." and then there was the moment when people today are still parsing, the still famously private jodie foster's acceptance speech for her lifetime achievement award. >> i have given everything up there from the time that i was 3 years old. that's reality show enough, don't you think?

>> there was a serious side to the evening. i talked to chris dodd, who heads up the mpaa, the motion picture association of america, but he's also former u.s. senator who represented the state of connecticut, newtown, for 34 years. and i asked him, on the red carpet, i asked him about the tragedy at newtown and the meeting he was in with the vice president and then some of these hollywood executives last week to talk about gun violence and the entertainment industry. here's the senator. >> the vice president and i have been friends for 36 years. we're delighted to be there, delighted to be asked to come. and we want to very much be part of the conversation and helping the country heal. i represented newtown, connecticut, for 30 years in the united states senate. i know the town well. i can't even begin to describe as rich as our language is, it does not capture the feelings the american people have for the events of that day a month ago. and so all of us need to be thinking about how we can be a stronger and better country, and certainly the industry that i work with every day has demonstrated that, giving

parents control, giving them choices, giving them good education about how to make the good choices is something we're going to continue doing. >> senator, i was in newtown, it was a horrific story to cover. when you talk to people all around the country, some people point to the fact that, look, it is the violence in the movies. i know your group is in charge of rating the movies, some of the people, for example, the columbine shooters, you know, one day hoped that a film would be made in their honor. what do you say to the people who say things and then movies need to change, too violent? >> all sorts of films for the american people to look at and absorb. we're a diverse country. our ratings system does give people choices and controls. that's why we have the ratings. for almost 50 years now, the ratings have been in place and we're dong a better job all the time of giving more information to parents so they have the tools to make the choices for themselves, their children, what comes in their homes, and what their children or families want to go see when they go see this remarkable entertainment. and, again, the choices are wide

and varied. >> would you be willing to change any guidelines? >> we're all looking at everything we can do. that's what the focus of the meetings are, that's what the purpose of this analysis is going to be. and certainly this industry is the dynamic one, constantly going over about how we can all do a better job. >> do you agree with the fear out there, though, that, you know, people who have committed these mass murders have been influenced by what they see in film? >> no, again, the studies have shown over the years, most recent one here, that while those people need help, in my view, and obviously those -- the mental health piece is one that i hope gets the most attention in all of this, by the way, also the idea that people because they watch something go out and commit mayhem, i think that's been pretty much discounted. you may argue about the coarsening of what people see, but there is no evidence i know of that says because you see this, you then go out and hurt people. >> final question, you know capitol hill so well from all your years, how much change do you think truly is possible when it comes to perhaps the most far fetched broad idea would be this assault weapons ban?

do you think that's even possible in this congress? >> i think it is possible. again, we'll see. the president is going to be talking a lot about it. this was a -- this event that i. this is an event that happened in my state, newtown, connecticut. it was different than anything else in many ways. you're talking about 20 first graders. i have a 7-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old taur. and anyone who has had children, this goes beyond description in my view. tragedy doesn't even capture the feeling that people have about this event. so my hope is that people, despite their long-held views on certain issues, are willing to step back and realize what happened. and then asked themselves, can we not do a better job on mental health on this issue, on controlling the weapons of violence that get to the wrong hands? every day, 300 people, every week, every week in this country, 300 people -- >> but is this going to get done? >> i think so. i'm optimistic. we've seen it in the past. people have risen to the occasion. my hope is that will happen this time as well. >> senator chris dodd with me on the carpet last night at the gold be globes.

her nickname is ruby the heartbreaker. today, she's been called to an italian courtroom. she's said to be part of though so called bunga bunga sex parties involving silvio berlusconi. a report from milan, next.

you think certain american politicians are a tad crazy? i've got four words for you -- ruby the heart stealer. she's the star witness here in the sex trial of former italian

prime minister berlusconi. our senior international correspondent ben wedeman explains the case against berlusconi. he says it's like a trashy romance novel and girls gone wild all wrapped in one. >> reporter: the star witness in the silvio burr lus connie sex case showed up in court. there were lots of journalists waiting for her, but she never took the stand. the defense team for whom she is a witness said they don't need her to testify. the judge told her that she could go. the prosecution says they will use a deposition given by her in 2010. now, the defense wanted to have the entire trial postponed till after the elections taking place here at the end of february. the judge said no. the trial must go ahead. no matter what the outcome, however, it's going to certainly

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some of the hottest stories in a flash here. rapid fire. all but three states are in the grip of this widespread flu. california, hawaii and mississippi. and parts of new york are getting a flu shot, perhaps, as you know, has been very

difficult. ever since cuomo declared a public health of emergency. some pharmacies report they've seen a run on the flu vaccine. one of detroit's most notorious gangsters says he knows where jimmy hoffa is buried. cz sarilli says hoffa was buried in a field outside of detroit and the plan was to rebury him upstate but the second burial never happened. here's what he told tv station w nbc. >> how certain are you that jimmy hoffa's buried here in this field? >> well, i'm as certain as i could possibly be. if i had money, i'd like to bet a big sum of money that he's buried over here. >> jimmy hoffa was last seen in 1975 when he was 62 years old. her battle with a rare blood disorder has played out on morning television. but today, "good